ICC Pre-tribunal Chamber Letter to Myanmar
Rohingya people and ethnic cleansing
By Mohammed Rafique | Published by The Irish Times on June 21, 2018 Sir, – We applaud David McKechnie and Kathleen Harris for their report on the lives of the Rohingya in the refugee camps in Bangladesh in the Weekend edition of The Irish Times (“Rohingya crisis: ‘We have no one, no idea what is going to happen tomorrow”, June 16th). Their report painted a realistic picture of the daily struggles that the Rohingya face. We have been expelled from our country. We are the victims of major human rights abuses. We have been stripped of our nationality. The government
Putting lives in danger
By MS Anwar | Published by Dhaka Tribune on June 19, 2018 An Amnesty report that points fingers at ARSA could do more harm than good Amnesty International, a reputed international human rights watchdog group, published a report claiming Rohingya armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) had massacred scores of Hindu civilians in Rakhine state on May 22 — a report which ARSA has categorically denied later. The report was shocking to many, and drew immediate criticism and condemnation from leading Rohingya activists as well as non-Rohingya activists, not because they were angry with the Amnesty
Suu Kyi actively attempting to manipulate UN
By Dr. Maung Zarni | Published by Anadolu Agency on June 16, 2018 Myanmar’s leader is doing her best to cover up her country’s international crimes against Rohingya people Cambridge, THE UK — In the first meeting on June 13 between Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Christine Schraner Burgener, the Burmese urged the freshly-minted Special Envoy on Myanmar for the UN Secretary General to understand “the real situation” about the Rakhine State, from which 700,000 Rohingyas fled, in what the Secretary General himself characterized as “ethnic cleansing”. The phrase “the real situation” rings alarm bells in my head. It
Expert calls on UN to stop ‘promoting Myanmar’s lies’
Published by Anadolu Agency on June 16, 2018 Maung Zarni says ‘UN needs to stop promoting Myanmar’s lies – such as bypassing the calls for ICC-led accountability’ ANKARA — The United Nations should “stop promoting Myanmar lies,” an international expert wrote in an analytical piece for Anadolu Agency. Maung Zarni, coordinator for strategic affairs at the Free Rohingya Coalition, wrote: “In the face of Myanmar’s ongoing international crimes against Rohingyas as a people, inside Myanmar and in the refugee camps in Bangladesh — all under Suu Kyi’s watch, and with her complicity — UN needs to stop promoting Myanmar’s lies —
Questioning Amnesty’s “new evidence” on ARSA’s brutal killing of Hindu Rohingyas in Kha Maung Seik
By Tapan Bose | Published by CounterReview on June 15, 2018 On May 22, 2018, Tirana Hassan, Crisis Response Director at Amnesty International released a briefing note titled, “Myanmar: New evidence reveals Rohingya armed group massacred scores in Rakhine State”. It may be seen HERE. In the briefing note, Amnesty International stated, “A Rohingya armed group brandishing guns and swords is responsible for at least one, and potentially a second, massacre of up to 99 Hindu women, men, and children as well as additional unlawful killings and abductions of Hindu villagers in August 2017, Amnesty International revealed today
Why the UN Deal With Myanmar Ignores Rohingya Realities
By Tun Khin | Published by The Diplomat on June 15, 2018 Conditions are nowhere near ready for Rohingya to return in safety and dignity. Last week, the United Nations and the Myanmar government inked a deal that will supposedly begin the long process of repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees back to their homes. The UN hailed it as “the first step to address the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine.” Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counselor and de facto political leader, said it will “hasten” refugee returns. The rest of the world,
The Rohingya Are Not the Only Ones
By Matthew Gindin | Published by tricycle on June 15, 2018 The tribalism plaguing Myanmar for the last 60 years has led to the persecution of many more of the country’s minority peoples. “Kyaw Kyaw, you cannot only care for human rights; we must also care for our people.” So says an unnamed young Burmese man in the film My Buddha Is Punk, a documentary about the courageous punk band Rebel Riot, as members of the band and others discuss politics during a meeting for their community in a grungy concrete room in Yangon. Rebel Riot—Kyaw Kyaw is the lead singer—has
The crimes of a few condemn the fate of many
By Aakar Patel | Published by The Hindu on June 14, 2018 The profound lack of support for Rohingya refugees in India is shameful On May 22, Amnesty International (AI) released a briefing that revealed that a Rohingya armed group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), had committed serious human rights abuses against Hindus in northern Rakhine State in Myanmar. As a movement that campaigns to end human rights abuses against all people, AI aims to uncover all cases of human rights violations without bias, regardless of who the perpetrators are and where the violations are committed. The May 22
Myanmar bans Radio Free Asia for using the term “Rohingyas”
Published by Reporters Without Borders on June 12, 2018 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the Myanmar government’s latest interference in the work of journalists, a ban on local broadcasting by US government-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) for rightly using the term “Rohingyas” to refer to members of the persecuted Muslim community in Rakhine state, in the west of the country. The ban is officially imposed today, six months to the day after the arrest of two Reuters journalists who had been investigating a massacre of Rohingya civilians. The last broadcast of an RFA-produced programme in Myanmar was yesterday evening.